Alina Ciocan named City Manager

The Sanger City Council unanimously approved an employment agreement with Alina Ciocan as the new City Manager for Sanger on Monday night June 4th. “The City of Sanger is excited to announce the hiring of Alina Ciocan to fill the role of City Manager. She came to the City of Sanger initially as Director of Economic Development in October 2014 from Carrollton, where she had also served in economic development. She produced positive results for Sanger in her prior capacity, and the city council expects that she will continue to do so in her new role,” said Sanger Mayor, Thomas Muir. “The city will look to hire a new Director of Economic Development to fill the newly vacant position. With Alina now in a strategic role for the city and with her background, the city is well-positioned in its top leadership as we face current and future growth.” Alina joined the City of Sanger in October 2014 as the Director of Economic Development and in May 2016 she was appointed the additional role of Director of Development Services. “I am honored to have the opportunity to continue to serve the City in the capacity of City Manager. These are exciting times for Sanger and I am glad to be a part of its next chapter and the growth opportunities that lie ahead. I look forward to working with the City Council, staff, community leaders and residents to keep Sanger moving forward in a positive direction,” said Ciocan. Her experience in municipal government extends over a decade and includes previous roles in community and economic development working for the City of Carrollton, a suburb of Dallas. She is an active member of the Texas Economic Development Council (TEDC), International Economic Development Council (IEDC) and International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC). She currently serves on the Board of the Upper Trinity Regional Water District and has recently joined the International City Managers Association (ICMA) and Texas City Managers Association (TCMA). Alina holds a Master of Business Administration degree from University of North Texas, a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from University of Phoenix; and, graduated from the Economic Development Institute at the University of Oklahoma. She is fluent in several languages. In November of 2017, the Sanger City Council met at a special-called session, following the death of City Manager Mike Brice, and announced the appointment Ciocan as acting City Manager. As the Director of Economic Development, she had been responsible for leading the City’s economic development efforts to expand the property and sales tax base, encourage creation of jobs, improve quality of life, and facilitate a self-sustaining economy for the community. The City Manager is the Chief Administrative and Executive Officer of the City, appointed by and reporting to the City Council. The City Manager serves as the bridge between the Council and staff and is responsible for implementing the policies established by the Council. The City Manager is also responsible for developing and administering the budget and various strategic plans. In general, the City Manager is reponsible for supervising city employees and has the final responsibility for all hiring, discipline and termination matters. Ciocan had worked closely with former City Manager Mike Brice. Brice, who served as City Manager for the City of Sanger for a decade, died of septic pneumonia on Monday, October 23, 2017, just one day after being admitted to the hospital. He was 55 years old. Brice and his wife, Paula, had been residents of Sanger since Brice took over as City Manager in 2007. Ciocan had temporarily been working the planning and zoning, rezoning, plotting and approval of permits processes following the departure of Planning and Zoning Director Joe Iliff last year.